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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25327291">Outside the frame, is what we're leaving out</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CadetDru/pseuds/CadetDru'>CadetDru</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Why So Sad? [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>What We Do in the Shadows (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Background Character Death, Death Wish, Familiars, Friends to Enemies, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Intervention, Minor Character Death, Minor Guillermo/Nandor the Relentless (What We Do in the Shadows TV), Multi, Nandor the Relentless Does Not Relent, Post-Episode s02e10 Nouveau Théâtre des Vampires, Vampires, canonical violence, mockumentary</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:14:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,429</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25327291</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CadetDru/pseuds/CadetDru</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The man looked up, straightened up. He had shaggy dark hair that fell over his eyes. "I'm Cameron."</p><p>"We all love you, Cameron," the young woman said, leaning back in her chair.  She was playing to him, not the camera. "We just don't love this choice that you're making."</p><p>Cameron smiled. "I'm going to be Nadja and Laszlo's familiar."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Guillermo de la Cruz &amp; Camera Two, Guillermo de la Cruz &amp; Nandor the Relentless</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Why So Sad? [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821313</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. it's so safe to play along</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The cameras weren't running.  The equipment was as over-heated and blood-soaked as the crew.  A man and a woman in jeans and winter coats were dragging bodies out of the house and stacking them in the garden.  Nadja and Laszlo supervised.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The cameras weren't running.  The equipment was as over-heated and blood-soaked as the crew.  A man and a woman in jeans and winter coats were dragging bodies out of the house and stacking them in the garden.  Nadja and Laszlo supervised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You like helping out around the house," Laszlo said, conversationally.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"There's a problem to be solved," the woman said.  "One that affects us all."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're very good at that," Nadja said.  She looked to the man. "You said you're twenty-six?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes, ma'am," he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Many decades of life left."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man dropped the body and turned to face her. "Yeah, many of them."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nadja stroked his face. "I have a job for you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes, ma'am."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nadja flicked the tip of his nose.  "And you, my dear girl?" She moved to help the woman stand.  "Would you like to serve me?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman stood still. "I have a job," she said.  "Thanks, though."</span>
</p><hr/><p>The camera was focused on two chairs set out in front of the dual staircase. One was taken by a young man rubbing the back of his head. His legs were apart, his head nearly dropped between his knees. The legs of his jeans were blood-stained. A young woman rushed onscreen and joined him in the opposite chair.  </p><p>"We're rolling already," an off-screen voice said, impatiently. </p><p>"Sorry," the woman said. "My name's Steph."</p><p>The man looked up, straightened up. He had shaggy dark hair that fell over his eyes. "I'm Cameron."</p><p>"We all love you, Cameron," the young woman said, leaning back in her chair.  She was playing to him, not the camera. "We just don't love this choice that you're making."</p><p>Cameron smiled. "I'm going to be Nadja and Laszlo's familiar."</p><p>"Because they hypnotized you," Steph said.  "You better get a haircut or Laszlo's gonna try to fuck you."</p><p>"Bonus," Cameron said.</p><p>"This is ridiculous." Steph looked to the camera.  "He's being ridiculous.  It's not me." </p><p>Cameron pushed back his hair.  "It could be worse. I'm going to go get it buzzed off soon as we're done here. I've just been busy with work lately, and I just kinda let myself go."</p><p>"And work was?" Steph prompted. "What'd you just give no notice on? Why are you even here? Why am I here?"</p><p>Cameron cleared his throat. "Work was Camera Two. I was one of the crew here. Steph was on sound. Nadja thinks it's my name.  Everyone thinks it's my name."</p><p>"Right, this is literally the camera you're supposed to be operating right now." Steph waved at the camera. She focused her full attention on it, sitting up straight in her chair. "This is Cam's exit interview/introduction, in addition to his intervention." Steph exhaled.  "So, this will be professional. I apologize for anything I said before that seemed otherwise and hope like hell that we can edit it out."</p><p>"Anything I do in this house puts me in just as much risk as being a familiar.  Running that damn camera was a death wish too, right?"</p><p>"She wrote a song about wanting to eat you! Eat us!"</p><p>"I love her," Cameron said, his blue eyes glazing over.  </p><p>Steph crossed her arms over her chest.  "I'd kill you, on camera, right now, but I don't want to steal her kill because then I'd be next." Steph sighed. "You're going to die of starvation. They are going to feed you ice chips.  We're not going to sneak you any snacks like you did Guillermo.  You're going into this with your eyes fucking wide open."</p><p>"Nadja and Laszlo take way better care of their people than Nandor ever did," Cameron said.</p><p>"So, what will the Cravensworths have you doing?" the off-camera voice prompted.</p><p>"Nadja was very clear on the haircut situation. We should be cool once I get that taken care of. Colin Robinson, well, he's already been draining me, so we're cool there. So, I just have to deal with Mr. The Relentless. And this new vampire who's moved into the big blue room." Cameron blushed.</p><p>"Guillermo de la Cruz," the off-camera voice said.</p><p>Cameron grinned. "Yeah.  Our fucking savior himself, the one man who has stood between this crew and death time and time again."</p><p>"Who you're in love with," Steph said to Cameron.</p><p>"He's so fucking incredible. He's resourceful and loyal and dedicated and…" </p><p>"Not interested in familiars," Steph said to the camera.  </p><p>"I mean, I probably have a better shot with Guillermo as someone's familiar than as my old self."</p><p>"His boyfriend, Mr. The Relentless, owns head-ripping gloves." Steph reached out to Cameron, her fingers stretched wide as she brought her hands towards Cameron. "Your head is going to be ripped. You have been warned."</p><p>"I don't think Guillermo would consider Nandor his boyfriend," Cameron said. Steph let her fingers brush his face.  Cameron pulled away, more annoyance than violence in his slow pull back.</p><p>"I don't think you'll get a chance to argue your case.  They let the familiars die. Every fucking time. We stopped counting, and we're supposed to be keeping track of that kind of thing. The familiars stopped being people, even to us, and now you're deliberately making yourself one of them.  Do you think you're better, that you're special? You're just another cursed accident waiting to happen."  Steph walked off. </p><p>Cameron stared at her empty chair. "I'm going to be okay," he said to the camera.</p><p>"No, you're not!" Steph shouted.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. can't make you hang around</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nandor hadn't gotten a new familiar.  Guillermo hadn't tried to find one, not wanting to take on the responsibility and the burden. Cameron was the only one in the house, and so much work fell to him.  He decided what was worth doing, what he could outsource.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cameron returned to the house with a shaved head and duffel bag. He immediately resumed his helping out around the house, and simply stopped doing anything for the crew. The vampires still called him Camera Two.   Steph's team was now Camera Three. </p><p>"It's going good," Cameron told Steph, speaking on the record but trying to convince her. "I'm happy here. I actually can sleep during the day, during the night half the time.  When did you guys sleep last?"</p><p>Steph didn't answer.  The team moved onto the vampires.  He heard the vampires talking about him, on camera.  They were grading him, comparing him to those that had come before. He was succeeding so far.  Nandor didn't particularly seem to like him. Guillermo was already mourning him, having reclaimed some of his humanity now that he'd lost his mortality.</p><p>Nandor hadn't gotten a new familiar.  Guillermo hadn't tried to find one, not wanting to take on the responsibility and the burden. Cameron was the only one in the house, and so much work fell to him.  He decided what was worth doing, what he could outsource.</p><p>Colin Robinson fed on him, just as much as when Cameron had been filming.  He'd never respected anyone's boundaries. Nandor and Guillermo, individually and together, would not feed from someone else's familiar for a variety of reasons. Laszlo and Nadja fed from Cameron here and there.  It motivated him to keep them fed more, but they did their own hunting for the most part.  They needed a valet.  They didn't want what Nandor and Guillermo had in the past.  They had each other. Nandor and Guillermo didn't have each like that any more.</p><p>Nadja and Laszlo had learned the importance of holding onto a familiar.  Cameron got breaks and days off, food and the veil of friendship.  He didn't get more traditional benefits, but the idea was that he'd be dead but not buried before too long. </p><p>Cameron was practically safe.  He got more and more smug when interacting with the cameras.  They got less and less interested in doing their part to keep him safe. They didn't warn him, didn't keep him in the loop. They were awake when he was asleep.  He kept an erratic schedule, napping here and there, and they were always there when he woke up. There might be a body to clear out, a bloodstain to mop, or someone to stuff into a cab. He liked the cab mornings the best; a confused, post-hypnosis walk of shame was a relief for eveyone involved.  </p><p>He went out, to run errands and get coffee and get some space.  The cameras didn't usually follow him. It was nice to have a break from everyone.  When he came back, he'd dust and clean and nail board and whatever else he had seen Guillermo do in the past.</p><p>"You doing okay?" he heard one night when he was in Laszlo's library, carefully not disturbing anything.</p><p>Guillermo was in the doorway, hovering just a little.</p><p>Cameron smiled wide. "Hey, yeah, I'm great." He came over to Guillermo. "How are you? I haven't really had a chance to talk to you." </p><p>He didn't know what new senses Guillermo had, if he knew what Cameron was thinking.  Guillermo pulled back a little; Cameron was starting to come on a little strong by any measure.</p><p>"I'm good, just an adjustment."</p><p>"I get that," Cameron said, laughing too much at himself.</p><p>Guillermo kept backing up into the hallway.  Cameron followed. The camera was waiting for them. "Have they given you a timeline?"</p><p>"A timeline..." Cameron said, blanking. "Oh, for becoming a vampire.  No, I haven't really asked. That's not..." He looked to the camera. Steph didn't meet his eye.  "That's not really important for me right now."</p><p>"Jesus Christ," Steph muttered.</p><p>Guillermo hissed at her, annoyed more than angry.  "Cameron, you need to be careful," he said.  "Things are different now."</p><p>"You changed so much," Cameron said, releasing a deep sigh. "I mean, you've changed, but you've also changed everything."</p><p>"You should get some sleep," Guillermo said softly.</p><p>Cameron achieved a kind of sad smile. "I've been sleeping."</p><p>"Maybe some more." Guillermo cleared his throat. "Except I was supposed to let you know that there's a house meeting that you're...supposed to let all of us know about."</p><p>The camera crew didn't follow him as he went back wherever he had come from. They were now stuck to Cameron.  He knew the basic decision-making process that they had used before to determine what was worth filming.  Guillermo was always worth it.  Either the other crew was waiting for him wherever he was going or Cameron's death was imminent.</p><p>"I wish..." he said, out loud.  He didn't know if he was talking to Steph or himself.</p><p>"You can wish whatever you want," Steph said.  "Guillermo can't be friends with other people's familiars."</p><p>Cameron closed his eyes, swaying slightly where he stood. "I thought it would be different between me and him."</p><p>"That has never been a thing. He's just this badass and you're having a bad year." Steph sighed. "Where's the middle ground there?"</p><p>"I need to figure out a plan."</p><p>"Your five-year plan?" Steph was using her professional voice. "When do you want to be a vampire?"</p><p>"No more than three years," Cameron lied, choosing a random timeframe.  He still didn't care. He went to call the house meeting to order.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. want something good to die for</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Two chairs set up in front of the staircases, one occupied by Steph.  Her legs were pulled into the chair under her, one knee blocking her face.</p><p>"You don't have to do this," the off-camera voice said.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The camera was running when Nandor came to confront Cameron on some pretext or another.  Nadja was having Cameron search the house to be sure that the cursed witch's hat was gone. Nandor had some trivial bone to pick with Cameron about his clothes being insufficiently laid out.</p><p>"Guillermo never let the house get to this state, Camera Two." Nandor looked to the actual camera.  "Not you, Camera Three.  Camera Two here.  Cam.  Cam who isn't as good as his hero Guillermo."</p><p>"Well, we can't all be Guillermo, can we?" Cameron asked.  "He was too good for this place. For you."</p><p>"What?" Nandor said.  </p><p>Cameron tilted his head up.  He held his chin high and exposed more of his throat to Nandor.  His pulse beat strong as he gathered his couraged. "You've never deserved him."</p><p>"Cam," Steph said softly.</p><p>"Get the fuck out of my face, man," Cameron said. "I don't work for you."</p><p>Nandor didn't answer.  He just glowered and loomed.  </p><p>"No one's afraid of you," Cameron said. "You know that, right?  You're the weakest vampire in the house.  You're lucky to be here.  You're a fucking one-hit wonder who's been irrelevant since before this country existed."</p><p>Nandor loomed a little closer, levitating. Cameron didn't back down. Nandor transformed into a bat and flew out of the room.</p><p>"That's what I thought," Cameron said with a sneer to the door.  He nodded to the camera. "The Relentless."</p><p>"You're going to die!" Steph screamed, bad for the sound she was supposed to be in charge of. </p><p>"Someone had to say it."</p><p>A bat flew back in, Nandor materialized in front of Cameron. "I needed to go ask Nadja and Laszlo for their permission to punish you for your insolence. They're still considering it, but I remembered that it's better to demand forgiveness than wait for permission." He moved his hands towards Cameron's neck. He didn't lower his head, didn't feed. Instead, there was a crack.  Cameron's body dropped to the floor.</p><p>Steph rushed over to Cameron's body, grabbing a piece of a broken chair on her way.  She knelt next to him, tears starting to well up. "You didn't have to hurt him."</p><p>"He's not hurt.  It was a painless death.  I know these things." Nandor stood above the two and winced.  "I should have gotten the blood out first."</p><p>Steph stood with the splintered wood in her hands.  She drew her arm back with the raw stake.  </p><p>The camera stopped.</p><hr/><p>Two chairs set up in front of the staircases, one occupied by Steph.  Her legs were pulled into the chair under her, one knee blocking her face.</p><p>"You don't have to do this," the off-camera voice said.</p><p>Steph laughed.  "Cam got his fucking neck snapped by Mr. The Goddamned Relentless for flirting with Nandor's fucking boyfriend of twelve years and mouthing off about it." </p><p>She dropped her leg, showing a black eye and little other injury. "I got fucking lucky because Nandor let me try it.  Cos you know. I'm a woman, and that kind of limits me as a food source for this house. Nadja wants me, Laszlo because of that, and that's about it.  It's all about what you can offer them. Fuck or food, seems to be the same thing.  Cam was just competition. They've been protecting us in their own way and that's all gone." </p><p>"Steph--"</p><p>"I'm not... Nadja wants me as their familiar still.  I could do that, I could be useful.  They don't have to get rid of me."</p><p>She looked around, not seeing Colin Robinson behind her but knowing that he was there.  </p><p>"I'm doomed, but I can still find a way to last a little bit longer."</p><p>"Good luck," the off-screen voice said.</p><p>Steph smiled.  </p>
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